Vengeance Is Sweet
by dream-of-belief
Summary: ... Unless You're On the Receiving End of It; It's just another case, right? Just another kidnapping that needs to be solved. Too bad that this time it's not just personal, but familial.
1. Annoyance of the Past

_**Okay, since no one seemed to be reviewing the rewrite, this is now the rewrite. If you're rereading, things WILL be different. Not too much, but little things. Please review.

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Vengeance is Sweet... Unless You're on the Receiving End of It

(Vengeance is Sweet, but Pineapples are Sweeter)

_**Chapter One: Annoyance of the Past Meets Annoyance of the Present**_

"Shawn! Stop it! Leave me alone!"

A little girl of about seven had her arms folded and was glaring at another boy that was about ten years old. She had long, brown hair and hazel eyes. She looked a lot like the little boy, Shawn. On the porch were two adults, a man and a woman that were about the same age. The man had blond hair and blue eyes, and he was sitting with a woman a bit younger than him with hair and eyes like the little girl's. Her hair was tied back in a braid that fell forward over her shoulder.

"Shawn, leave your cousin alone," Henry scolded from the porch.

The ten year old looked at him in disbelief. "I didn't do anything!"

The little girl scowled. "Don't lie, Shawn!"

"I'm not lying, Izzy," he said with a knowing grin.

The little girl seemed to boil over in anger. "Shawn! My name is _not _Izzy! It is Isabel!"

"But 'Isabel' is such a mouthful," he whined. "I'd rather call you Izzy."

"Shawn!" Isabel retorted before continuing to chase him around the yard, trying to catch him.

The woman on the porch laughed at the antics of the two children. "I see Shawn hasn't changed a bit," she commented.

Henry just kept his arms folded as he watched his son terrorize his niece. "Unfortunately, he's just as mischievous as ever." He paused for a moment before speaking infinitesimally less gruffly. "How are you, Sara?"

Sara turned to Henry with a raised eyebrow. "Henry, I'm fine. You need to stop worrying about me; I'm not a baby anymore."

"You're still my little sister," he said, the gruffness returning.

Sara smiled. "I'm not so 'little' anymore."

Henry sighed. "How can I help but worry, Sara? You live all the way out in Salem; I barely see or hear from you. I don't know what's going on in your life."

Sara smiled at Henry knowingly. "I'm fine. What you seem to neglect to realise is that I enjoy living in Salem. I never did like all the sun of Santa Barbara."

"Shawn!" Isabel shouted. "Stop running so fast and let me catch you!" Henry and Sara looked at each other and began laughing at the seven year olds comment.

"Why should I stop, Izzy?" Shawn asked, laughing as he ran from his cousin. "You'll just try to hurt me!"

"Shawn!" Isabel shouted, somehow managing to elongate his name into two syllables.

"I don't think those two will _ever_ get along," Sara laughed. "Shawn enjoys annoying Isabel too much."

"He enjoys annoying _everyone_ too much," Henry corrected

* * *

Isabel Spencer hated warm weather. It was one of the rainiest places in the country. Unfortunately, she was in California now and overcast days were a rarity. _I miss Seattle,_ she thought as she drove through the streets of sunny Santa Barbara. She didn't understand why California had to be so hot. Why would anyone want to live in a place where they got burnt by the sun everyday?

Isabel swallowed the lump in her throat as she pulled her car into the driveway of her uncle's house. She noticed that there was a motorcycle in the driveway and doubted that her uncle drove it. Being a former police officer, he had an ingrained hatred toward two-wheeled motorized vehicles. Isabel and her mother had visited this house often in her childhood and she felt nostalgic, being back here. She stayed in the car a moment longer than necessary to gather her thoughts. She didn't like the idea of telling her uncle that his sister was missing. She didn't like the idea of _thinking _of the fact that her mother was missing. Taking a deep breath, Isabel got out of the car and made her way to the front door. She rang the doorbell and waited. She was only slightly surprised by who answered the door.

She recognized Shawn despite the fact that she hadn't seen him since they were both teenagers. "Izzy?"

"Hey, Shawn," she greeted with a ghost of a smile. "And I have told you time and time again to not call me _'Izzy.'_ It hasn't been _that _long since we've seen each other."

"What are you doing here?" Isabel narrowed her eyes at his response. _Well, so much for family,_ she thought vaguely.

"Thanks for the warm welcome, Shawn," she answered sarcastically. "It's good to see you too. Is Uncle Henry home?"

"Yeah," he said. Isabel could tell that her sudden arrival had shocked him. "Would I really be here if he wasn't?"

"I don't pretend to understand the way that your mind works," she said dryly, her humour coming out. She was surprised. She hadn't had much of a sense of humour in the past few days. She supposed that Shawn had that effect on people.

She could see that Shawn had mostly gotten over the shock of her appearance when he started yelling for his father in his usual manner. Isabel thought that it was more appropriate for that of a child. She saw Henry come through a doorway and had to suppress a smile at the irate manner he always had with his son.

"Isabel, what are you doing here? Where's your mom? She should have come to visit with you," he greeted in his familiar, gruff manner.

"I'm not here to visit, Uncle Henry," she said softly, sitting in the living room amongst the hanging fish. "I got a call from the Salem Police Department two days ago. Mom's missing."


	2. Isabel Spencer isn't a Psychic

_**Vengeance Is Sweet… Unless You're On the Receiving End of It**_

_**(Vengeance is Sweet, but Pineapples are Sweeter)**_

_**Chapter Two: Isabel Spencer Isn't a Psychic, Which is Good Because She Wouldn't Have Seen this Coming**_

"Missing?" Henry questioned incredulously. "What do you mean missing?"

Isabel sighed and continued to explain. "The police said that one of the neighbors was told she went hiking, but she never came back. They think she was attacked and they just haven't found her body yet."

"You don't think so," Shawn said vaguely. I noticed that he, for once in his life, looked serious.

"No, I don't," she said, looking at her cousin oddly. "Mom doesn't hike, for one. She's been having trouble with her knee lately, so even if she _did_ like hiking, she wouldn't have been able to. Tim and Maggie would never lie about seeing her or hearing from her, but there doesn't seem to be any other explanation. I just came to tell you, though; I didn't think this was the kind of thing to be explained over the phone," Isabel explained.

No one said anything for many moments. Isabel could tell that Henry was trying to understand that his sister was missing and going over the facts in his head. Shawn… Isabel couldn't tell what was going on in his head. He looked as if he were thinking very hard about something.

"Was there anything else suspicious?" Shawn asked. Isabel was shocked. Had Shawn actually done what he had sworn never to do? Had he followed in his father's footsteps?

"Not that I noticed," she answered. "That's why I couldn't convince the police that anything was wrong. The house was just like it always is. Nothing was out of place, the car was still in the garage, and none of the neighbors had seen anyone come to the house for a few weeks. The only odd thing is that she actually went on a hike. Supposedly, anyways."

"Dude!" Shawn exclaimed. "I'm calling Gus! We are _definitely _taking this case!" Isabel looked at her cousin in confusion. Shawn was a police officer? How uncharacteristic of him.

"What is he talking about?" Isabel questioned her uncle.

Henry had a look of annoyance on his face. "Oh, haven't you heard? The kid's a _psychic_ now."

"A psychic," Isabel stated in disbelief. "A _psychic?"_

"The police department thinks he's a psychic," Henry explained. "He's a private consultant now. He even has his own _detective agency."_

"And they _believe_ him?" Isabel was beyond shocked. Could the police really be that gullible?

"Yes, they do," Henry scoffed. She looked to Shawn, who was talking on his cell phone.

"Dude, just get over here! It's for a case!" He paused for a moment as Gus responded. "Yes, at my dad's house. Just get over here, Gus. Gus! _Gus!"_ Isabel couldn't help but smile as Shawn argued with his best friend over the phone. Isabel had met Gus before but couldn't remember much about him. She only remembered that he and Shawn had a very odd friendship that included a lot pranks, arguments, cowardice, and abandonment.

"Do you have someplace to stay, kid?" Henry asked Isabel.

She shook her head. "No; I wasn't planning on staying long."

"Well, it looks like Shawn is going to make you stay a bit longer so that he can _divine where Sara is psychically."_ She couldn't help but smile at his open mockery. "If you can't find anywhere else to stay, you can stay here."

"Thanks, Uncle Henry," Isabel said with a smile. She glanced over at Shawn, who was wildly pressing keys on his cell phone, text messaging Gus. "So how did Shawn manage to rope Gus into his hare-brained scheme?" Isabel did not remember much about Burton Guster, but she knew that he was far more logical and realistic than her cousin and did not put up with most of his antics well.

"I have no idea," Henry replied. "I'm sure that Shawn somehow made it so that Gus had no choice but to go along with him until he was unable to want to leave anymore." Isabel pondered this for a moment before processing the information.

Shawn finally put his phone away and returned to his father and cousin. "Okay, so Gus refuses to come here, so _we'll _be going to _him."_

Isabel rolled her eyes, but nodded. "Fine, but I'm driving myself. There is not a fireball's chance in Dante's lowest level of hell of me getting on your death trap of a motorcycle," Isabel told him seriously.

"Does _everyone_ have to put down my bike?" Shawn asked incredibly. "Fine, I'll lead you there. If I leave my bike here, it'll be disassembled by morning," he said with a sideways glance at his father. I chuckled and bade my uncle farewell before following Shawn outside.

"So where, pray tell, are we going to find Gus?" Isabel asked as they made their way to the driveway.

"At the office, of course," Shawn answered, putting on his helmet.

"Oh, that's right! I forgot! Of course you know where Gus is – you're a psychic!" Isabel mocked light-heartedly.

Shawn rolled his eyes as Isabel climbed into her car. She watched as he roared out of the driveway with ridiculous and showy maneuvering. Isabel rolled her eyes. Shawn was _such _an idiot sometimes. In fact, he was an idiot _most _of the time.

* * *

_Only _Shawn_ would call his fake detective agency 'Psych,' _Isabel thought to herself. She parked in front of the office beside a hideously small, blue car. Was that _really_ the car that Gus drove? She hoped not. When Shawn had turned off the engine of his bike, he bounded up the door and Isabel was sure that her eyes would roll right out of her head if Shawn kept this up. She followed his tracks to the door. By the time she entered, he and Gus were already arguing.

"Gus, we are _taking _this case!"

"No, Shawn! I am busy with my _real _job! I don't have time to take another case right now! How did you manage to get a case at your _dad's _house, anyway?"

Shawn opened his mouth to answer, but was stopped when Gus saw Isabel in the doorway. She was surprised to see that Gus's eyes tightened when he saw her. She was confused. Did he not recognise her? She didn't look too terribly different. Her freckles were more prominent since her skin was paler. Her hair was shorter than when she was a teenager; when she was younger, she had let it grow out so that it waved down to her waist, nearly to her hips. She had gotten it cut a few years ago and it was only beginning to really grow back. At the moment, its longest point was just below her shoulders. She couldn't really say that she was any taller; she had only grown about an inch or so since she was fifteen, the last time she had seen Gus.

"Gus, you remember my cousin, Izzy?" Shawn had an odd smile on his face as he looked between Gus and Isabel. Isabel wasn't quite sure why and was sure she did not want to know why.

_"Shawn,"_ Isabel said roughly. "It's _Isabel." _She turned back to Gus and smiled. "Nice to see you again, Gus."

"It's nice to see you too, Isabel. It's been a while; I almost didn't recognise you," he said with a warm smile. Isabel was surprised at how much Gus had changed. He didn't seem like the same awkward teenager anymore. She had always thought of him as the blatant nerd to Shawn's inner geek.

"Yeah," Isabel replied with a half-smile. "I can honestly say that I'm surprised; I didn't think I looked much different from my teenage years."

Gus chuckled again. "Well, you have changed enough that I didn't recognise you at first. Is there any particular reason you're visiting Santa Barbara?"

"Shawn's going to help me find my mom. She's missing," Isabel explained, trying not to act too solemnly.

Gus was immediately humbled. "I'm sorry. If I had known –"

"It's fine," Isabel said. "I understand. I can only imagine how many crazy cases Shawn has dragged you onto."

Gus laughed. "Too many," he said seriously. After a moment, he grinned and Isabel couldn't help but grin back.

"I _am _right here, you know," Shawn whined. "The least you could do is quit the shameless flirting until I've left the room." Isabel could see a mischievous look in his eye and wondered why. When she saw Gus's reaction to his comment, she understood why her cousin had said it.

"I'm not flirting, Shawn! And even if I were, how many times have _you _shamelessly flirted with complete disregard for the fact that I'm in the room?" Isabel couldn't help but laugh at Gus's obvious defiance.

"So, how are you going to find my mom?" Isabel asked her cousin curiously, taking a seat on the arm of one of the chairs. "Are you going to contact her telepathically?"

Shawn rolled his eyes. "No, Izzy, I'm going to need to see the house."

Choosing to ignore the 'Izzy' comment, Isabel said, "We're going to Salem, then?"

"Shawn!" Gus exclaimed. _"Salem? _I can't go to _Salem!_ Some of us actually have a job other than faking aneurysms for the police!" As an afterthought, he turned to Isabel. "Not that I wouldn't like to help find your mother, I just –"

"It's okay, Gus," Isabel said. "I understand."

"Dude! I don't! This isn't just any other case! This is my _aunt! _My _flesh and blood! _We _have _to do this!" Shawn argued, being his usual melodramatic self.

Despite the severity of the situation, Isabel couldn't help but smile. Shawn and Gus's friendship intrigued her. Shawn was a perpetual kid and unashamed of it. Gus was more responsible, but still had that child-like quality to his character. Shawn brought out a less serious side to Gus and Gus managed to bring out a more serious side of Shawn. Well, occasionally anyway. It was difficult to get Shawn to be serious about anything.

"Shawn," Isabel interrupted. "If Gus has to work, then he has to work. We have no idea how long it will take to find my mom. There is no guarantee that we _will _find her. Gus can't give up his job for one person."

Both men were silent for a minute before Gus spoke. "Are you sure that you and Shawn are related?"

Isabel laughed. "Yes, I'm sure. Unfortunately, Shawn and I do have many similarities that cannot be attributed to coincidence."

"She may not act it now," Shawn replied. "But Izzy is really quite devious. I remember one prank she pulled on me when she was only five! Let's just say I never looked at Windex the same way again."

Isabel had to hide a grin. "I have no idea what you're talking about Shawn," she said in mock-innocence. "Let's focus on the case, though. The faster we work, the faster we find out what happened to Mom."

"Okay, okay," Shawn said, collapsing on the couch. "Before we do anything, we're going to need to know everything. Do the police have a file?"

"I'm sure they do, Shawn. The police tend to have paperwork on their cases so they can keep track of things," Isabel prodded. "As far as I know, the police think that Mom's disappearance is nothing more than accidental death and that the body just hasn't turned up yet."

As Isabel spoke of the possibility of her mother being dead, her demeanor turned very sombre. Shawn immediately noticed this change. He had been surprised at how easily his cousin had been able to speak of his aunt's disappearance as she explained things to him and his father. He could tell now that she had just been putting on a brave face and she was genuinely concerned about what happened to her mother.

"Okay, first things first, then," Shawn said, standing up. "We have to take a trip to the station. I'll have a psychic episode about Aunt Sara and they'll look into the case."

"Why in the world would the Santa Barbara Police Department get involved with a missing person's case from _Salem?"_ Isabel questioned incredulously.

"Yes, Shawn, why would they? You know Lassiter is never going to do anything to help us," Gus commented.

"They won't get _involved,_ per say," Shawn said nonchalantly. "We just need to get Sara's case file. It'll be much easier to get the information from Lassy and Jules and the Chief than trying to convince a whole new precinct that I'm a psychic."

"Why are so _lazy?"_ Isabel asked incredulously.

Shawn held up a hand and shushed her. "Come now, Izzy, you are just as lazy as I. It is part of the Spencer gene."

"You know that isn't true, Shawn," Isabel argued.

"Your own father is proof of the falseness of that fact," Gus said.

Shawn rolled his eyes. "It's part of _our generation_ of Spencers, of course."

Isabel and Gus rolled their eyes. Isabel thought vaguely that working with Shawn was going to be a task. A very interesting and difficult task.

* * *

**_I would really appreciate it if you pressed that button down there that's of the green-coloured variety. Please? I really want some feedback..._**


	3. Vampires and Winona Ryder

_**Vengeance Is Sweet… Unless You're On the Receiving End of It**_

_**(Vengeance is Sweet, but Pineapples are Sweeter)**_

_**Chapter Three: Vampires? Lots? A Lot of Vampires! Rider? Horses! No – Winona? Winona Ryder?**_

_Shawn can't really be that stupid,_ Isabel thought. _And the police can't really be that gullible._ Isabel was quite enjoying the tales of Shawn's more unbelievable 'psychic occurances.'

"He started performing a musical number?" Isabel asked incredulously. "One called 'Dazzle and Stretch' no less! How did you even _think _of that, Shawn? I mean, the _cat_ was psychic too? _Really?"_

"First of all," Shawn retorted. "I didn't name the musical number. The play's title was 'Dazzle and Stretch.' Second, it was a good idea! That cat was _awesome…_ even if it _did _scratch up my arms like it was the spawn of Satan."

Isabel laughed, glancing at Shawn's sullen expression in the rear view mirror. She had opted out of taking Gus's car and had forced Shawn to sit in the backseat of hers. Gus had found it all rather amusing. He had never seen anyone act more stubbornly than Shawn. Even Henry lost against his son's tenacity most of the time. Isabel, however, seemed to be able to match his degree of persistence.

After Isabel had pulled into a parking spot at the police station, she turned in the driver's seat slightly to speak to Shawn. "So, pray tell: how are you going to explain me to the police department? If you're having a psychic vision about Mom disappearing, then how are you going to explain the fact that your cousin was with you and told you about the disappearance?"

"It's elementary, my dear Izzy," Shawn replied in a British accent. "I'll have a vision about something in Salem and then you'll come in. You can say that Dad pointed you in this direction. Gus can send you a text message when the time is right."

Isabel nodded and gave Gus her cell phone number before they left the car to enter the station. She was a bit disappointed, however. She would have enjoyed watching Shawn pretend to have a seizure for the police.

As soon as Shawn and Gus entered the police station, it began. Shawn began to stumble and move toward Chief Vick's office. Gus tore after him, resisting the urge to roll his eyes. When Shawn burst into the office, the chief rose from her chair.

"Mr. Spencer – "

"What in the sweet name of justice are you doing now, Spencer?" Lassiter asked, entering Chief Vick's office with Juliet to see what Shawn was up to.

Despite the fact that when with Shawn Spencer you should be prepared for anything, everyone was shocked when Shawn attempted to latch his teeth onto Lassiter's neck. The Head Detective pushed him backwards with enough force that he nearly fell over, running into a chair with the amount of momentum.

"What the hell?"

"I vant to drink your blood," Shawn said in a horribly fake accent.

"Excuse me?" Chief Vick and Juliet questioned at the same time.

"He's in a trance," Gus explained. "He's getting some kind of message."

Shawn broke out of his Dracula impersonation. "Vampires?" he asked to no one in particular. As he spoke, he moved his head back and forth, as if in debate with himself. "Lots? A lot of vampires! Or… lots of vampires? No, no – a lot of vampires. Ah! Rider? Horses! No… Winona? Winona Ryder?"

"What is this about, Mr. Spencer?" Chief Vick asked as Gus slipped his cell phone back into his pocket.

Shawn jerked his body, as if he was coming out of a trance. "Salem," he finally said in a nonchalant manner, as if he hadn't just been speaking of vampires and Winona Ryder. "I'm getting Salem."

"And what do vampires and Winona Ryder have to do with Salem?" Lassiter asked.

"Lassy! I'm wounded! Didn't you understand the clues?" Lassiter glared and Chief Vick shrugged.

"_'Salem's Lot,"_ Juliet supplied. "It was about vampires. And Winona Ryder was in _The Crucible. _It was about the Salem Witch Trials."

"How do you know that off the top of your head, O'Hara?" Lassiter asked, incredulous and horrified.

"See, Lassy! Jules got the reference!" Shawn said triumphantly.

"Let's recreate the Witch Trials, Spencer," Lassiter growled. "Psychic is as close to witch as you can get.

Shawn pretended to look offended. "A witch is completely different from a psychic! Psychic have nice hair and motorcycles and are people-persons! Witches have warts and broomsticks and are drowned and burned at the stake!"

"And what does Salem have to do with anything, Mr. Spencer?" Chief Vick asked.

"Excuse me," Isabel said from the doorway. "I'm sorry to interrupt. Hey, Shawn. Uncle Henry said that I would find you here or at the Psych office," she explained, completely unfazed by the many sets of eyes upon her.

"Can I help you?" Chief Vick asked, trying to be polite despite at how annoyed she was with Shawn.

"I'm Isabel Spencer; I came to talk to Shawn. I live in Seattle and got a call from the Salem Police Department a few days ago; my mother's missing," Isabel explained politely.

"Good Lord, not _another _Spencer!" Lassiter groaned.

"Did you say Salem, Miss Spencer?" Chief Vick asked in disbelief.

"Yes, ma'am," Isabel said.

_"Don't_ call me ma'am," the chief growled.

Shawn moved forward and grabbed Isabel's arm. He moved it wildly and Isabel struggled against the instinct to punch her cousin. It wouldn't be helpful at the moment. She made a mental note to do so later; her arm was already hurting from the way Shawn was making it flail around.

After a few moments, he stopped. He kept his hands on her arm, but didn't attempt to move it anymore. "Sara told the neighbors she was going to hike. The police think she's already dead – they're just looking for her body at this point."

"He's right," Isabel supplied when the Chief, Lassiter, and Juliet all turned to look at her. She was surprised that she was able to keep the annoyance out of her voice.

Shawn let go of her arm and grasped his knee, as if he were in pain. "But you don't think so, Izzy," he said in a pained hiss. "Her knee was bothering her too much to make hiking an option." Isabel had to try to stop herself from laughing. Shawn was _so _melodramatic. The way he was talking made it sound like he was dying.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Spencer," Chief Vick said. She looked at Isabel and blinked. "Miss Spencer, I can't help you. That is out of my jurisdiction. _Way _out of my jurisdiction."

"Chief, all I need – "

She cut him off. "I can't help you, Mr. Spencer. You're on your own."

Shawn spun around and swept from the office. Isabel raised an eyebrow and followed him from the room with Gus just behind her. Five minutes later, Shawn, Gus, and Isabel were out of the station and leaning on Isabel's car. "Brilliant performance, Shawn," Isabel mocked. "Too bad it didn't help anything. Good news, though; if we don't find my mom you might get an Oscar!"

"Just wait," Shawn said, hopping up onto the hood of his cousin's car. "Any minute now."

"He does realise that he isn't _actually _psychic, right?" Isabel asked Gus.

Gus shook his head. "Sometimes, I'm not sure he does."

"So, what _vision_ did he have about Salem?" Isabel asked curiously. "I heard something about _witches. _Please tell me he didn't do the Salem Witch Trials."

"Sorry, Isabel. He did vampires and Winona Ryder," Gus said apologetically.

"Ugh!" she exclaimed, turning to Shawn. "You disgust me. The best you could come up with was _'Salem's Lot _and _The Crucible?_ Really?"

Shawn opened his mouth to retort, but then just grinned. Gus and Isabel turned to see what he was grinning at. Juliet was walking towards them with a small stack of papers. She handed the papers to Shawn, who took them with a grin.

"Aw, Jules – for me? What is it? Wait, I know what it is," he held up a hand to his head. "It's your written confession of undying love for a handsome and witty psychic with great hair, isn't it?"

Juliet rolled her eyes. "Sorry to disappoint you, Shawn, but no. It's Sara Spencer's missing person's report. I just printed it out. Chief Vick is right, though; we can't help you can find evidence that she's in Santa Barbara. Good luck, though."

"Aw, that's sweet, Jules! You sure you don't want to come? It'll be fun! A road trip! We can take Lassy along and put him on trial!" Isabel laughed at her cousin. It wasn't hard to see that Shawn was quite infatuated with Juliet.

Juliet turned to Isabel. "Hi," she said. "It's nice to meet you. I'm Juliet."

"Nice to meet you too," Isabel replied. She could tell that she would get along well with the Junior Detective. "I'm Isabel."

"So you're Shawn's cousin?" Juliet asked inquisitively.

Isabel rolled her eyes. "Wish I wasn't," she groaned.

"Izzy!" Shawn exclaimed, putting a hand to his heart. "I'm hurt! You wish you weren't related to me? That's cold."

"My name isn't _Izzy, _Shawn. I have told you this dozens of times! And who would _want _to be related to you? You are a walking, talking migraine inducer." Isabel folded her arms and glared at her cousin.

Juliet chuckled. "I hope you find your mother, Isabel. Try not to kill Shawn – he really does help out too much for us to lose him." She turned to Shawn and Gus before leaving. "Have fun in Salem; try not to kill each other."

Shawn started shouting after her as she returned to the station. "Come on, Jules! You sure you don't want to come? Then you can make sure we don't kill each other yourself!" He waited for a response. When he got none, he spoke again. "Fine! That's okay, Jules! But next time we go to Mexico, you're not invited!"

"Shawn!" Gus exclaimed. "We _aren't _going to Mexico again!"

Shawn paused for a moment. "Agree to disagree."

"No, I won't! I'm not going to Mexico, Shawn! Not again!"

"Shawn," Isabel interrupted. "Are you planning to leave for Salem _today?"_

"I don't see why not," he replied.

"Perhaps because it's a trip that takes a day and a half and that it's already four o'clock?"

"Fine, fine; we'll leave tomorrow," Shawn relented. "What do we do until then?"

Isabel rolled her eyes. "You could get some psychic vibes from Mom's case file," she mocked.

"You know, Izzy, the psychic jabs have got to end at some point. There are only so many psychic-related jokes out there."

"Go ahead and think that, Shawn," Isabel said with a grin. "I have _years _of torment to make up for."

"How do you have years of torment to make up for?" Shawn asked incredulously. "We only saw each other once a year at most – once every other year at worst. How does that add up to years of torment?"

"Once a year with you is enough. I feel bad for Gus, though. He has to put up with you twenty-four seven."

_"I'm _not doing anything, Shawn," Gus said. "I'm going back to work. And if I hear _anyone _talking about Mrs. Pickles I will _kill _you."

The three piled into Isabel's car to return to the Psych office. "Who is _Mrs. Pickles?"_ Isabel asked incredulously as she started to drive back to the office.

"Gus's orange tabby cat," Shawn responded with a grin.

"The _imaginary _cat that Shawn made up to get me out of work!"

Isabel laughed. "How does an imaginary cat make you leave work?"

He tells my co-workers that Mrs. Pickles is dying or injured or having kittens and if I don't leave, they would probably call PETA and then I'd get fired because they would find out I was leaving work for no reason," Gus said angrily.

Isabel laughed once more and pulled into the parking spot she had used earlier. She and Shawn bid Gus farewell as he got into his own car to return to work for a few hours. The cousins retired to the office and Shawn collapsed on the couch once more. Isabel wondered if Shawn was capable of just sitting in a chair. She took a seat in a chair beside the couch and closed her eyes. She could feel the beginnings of a headache.

"You okay, Izzy?"

Isabel opened her eyes to see Shawn looking at her with an eyebrow raised. She was surprised to hear genuine concern in his voice. "Yeah, Shawn," she said. "It's just been a long day."

Shawn gave her a look that clearly displayed his disbelief in her statement. "Don't worry," he said confidently. "We'll find her."

Isabel was slightly shocked. She had forgotten how easily Shawn could read her. This in and of itself confused her. Shawn was _horrible _at reading people. Gus had confirmed this fact in telling her of how many times he got the wrong guy on a case and sometimes even _dated _the culprit. If he was so horrible at reading people, then how did he read her so well?"

"How are you so sure?" Isabel asked. "And don't even _think _about saying 'psychic' unless you want me to cause bodily harm."

Shawn sat up and looked Isabel in the eye. "I'm sure, Iz. We'll find her." He grinned when he spoke again in his familiar, childish manner. "And if we don't, my father will murder me. Gleefully. Most likely with fishing line."

Isabel laughed and Shawn's grin widened. "Thanks, Shawn," she said. "Now, you are making room at your apartment for me tonight."

His eyebrow rose once more. "Really? I don't think I received that message."

"Well, now you have," Isabel stated with a smile. "As much as I love your dad, I _really _don't want to spend more time at his house than necessary. I _hate _fish."

Shawn shrugged and grinned. "Okay, I understand. You can stay if you want."

* * *

**_Okay, I would really appreciate feedback! Especially since this is my favourite chapter. You have _no_ idea how much fun it was to write the scene with Shawn's vision. Seriously, some of the most fun I had writing _ever.**

**_How about this: if you give me a review (anything at all), I will tell you the titles of some of the sequels I have planned. Maybe you'll be able to figure out the plot from the title. I may give a better reward if you can guess the plotline._**


	4. Of Dying Cats and Angel's Choirs

_**Vengeance Is Sweet… Unless You're On the Receiving End of It**_

_**(Vengeance is Sweet, but Pineapples are Sweeter)**_

_**Chapter Four: Of Dying Cats, Angel's Choirs, 713, and Horror Movies**_

Isabel sighed in disbelief, rubbing her temples. A road-trip with Shawn was _definitely _not one of her more brilliant decisions. Her cousin had somehow managed to wrangle Gus into coming with them. She had yet to rule out blackmail or drugs.

Isabel was thankful that they had decided to stop in a town on the way to Salem. She didn't think she could endure anymore of Shawn's and Gus's singing. It had been mildly amusing for the first five minutes. By the time ten minutes had passed, Isabel had wanted ear-plugs. After fifteen minutes, she had been ready to strangle both of them. She made a silent vow to be sure to be in the driver's seat for the rest of the trip so that she could control the radio.

"What's wrong, Izzy?" Shawn asked as they got out of Isabel's car. "Don't you like our singing?"

Isabel glared. "You two make dying cats sound like an angel's choir."

Both men put on horrified faces. "Izzy! That hurts! Must you be so cruel?" Shawn asked.

"I'm afraid I agree with Shawn, Isabel," Gus said. "We are _much _better than dying cats!"

Isabel glared. "You two are horribly delusional young men," she said hopelessly. "And I'm going to drive the rest of the way so that I have control over the music."

Shawn groaned. "So you're going to make us listen to bagpipes or Brits?"

Isabel glared. _"Don't _mess with The Beatles, Shawn. Or the Tartan Terrors. I _will _hurt you."

Gus looked confused, but shook his head. "Why don't we get some food and get back on the road."

Fifteen minutes later, Isabel was behind the wheel of her car and was putting in a CD of The Beatles. Shawn rolled his eyes, but stayed silent. A few hours later, they reached Salem. "Well," Isabel said as she parked in front of her mother's house. "This is it."

When they entered, Shawn took a good look around. He'd only been here once as a child. Sara and Isabel had always come to Santa Barbara because of Henry's job. The only time he had ever been here was after his aunt and cousin were in a car accident. It wasn't much different from how it had been then. The pictures were different, but other than that everything was nearly identical. It was even neat and tidy. No sign of a struggle at all.

"Izzy, is _anything _out of place? Anything at all?" Shawn asked as they moved from the living room to the kitchen.

"Nothing was out of place," Isabel said. She paused for a moment as she looked at the refrigerator. "Wait… The magnets are different. I didn't notice before, but they're… off."

Shawn immediately focused on the refrigerator. It was covered in magnets of all shapes and sizes there were all over the place. He moved his focus from the magnets on the refrigerator to the area around the cooler.

"Dude!" he exclaimed, bending over and picking something up off the floor. "What's this?" The small piece of plastic had been half-hidden under the refrigerator.

"It looks like the cap to a needle," Gus explained. "A syringe."

"Hmm," Shawn murmured, looking at the magnets once more. There had to be a pattern of some kind to them. Something that would hint at who had taken his aunt. "Wait a minute," he murmured. The magnets seemed to be arranged into _numbers. _"What's 713?"

Isabel shrugged. "No clue."

"Seven thirteen? Seven _hundred _thirteen? Seven, one, three? Seventy _one_, three? Huh. I got nothing. It could be anything," Shawn consented. "We should probably figure that out."

Isabel and Gus looked at each other before rolling their eyes. Shawn looked around the kitchen before leaving them to search the rest of the house. Isabel sighed and collapsed into one of the chairs at the kitchen table.

"I keep imagining it in my head," she murmured. "He didn't break in, so he either had a key, found a spare one, or picked the lock to get in. Mom probably heard him come in and went to see who it was. It was someone she recognized, whether she knew him or knew he was a bad guy. She ran to the kitchen to leave that message – whatever it may be – and he snuck up behind her. He probably had a sedative so that he could get her out easy." She paused and ran a hand through her hair, gripping the hair at the bottom of her neck. "What about the neighbors then? Did he force her to call and give an excuse before knocking her out?" Isabel was clearly distressed and agitated. Gus stepped forward and put a hand on her shoulder.

"You need to calm down, Isabel," Gus tried to soothe. "Having a panic attack won't help your mom right now. Don't worry; we'll find her."

Isabel looked up at Gus to see that he was as certain as Shawn had been the day before. She nodded and wished she could feel as confident as either of them. A few moments later, Shawn burst back into the room.

"Okay, the rest of the house is clean," he said nonchalantly. "I did find some embarrassing pictures of when you were younger, Izzy, but nothing suspicious."

"Then what do we do now?" Isabel asked.

"We need to talk to the neighbors," Shawn said.

"Shawn," Isabel began when she saw that he had a glint in his eye. I've known Tim and Maggie O'Donnel my entire life. They aren't going to believe your psychic song and dance. Let me handle things. They'll tell us what we need to know without your charade. They're good friends of my mom's." Shawn merely shrugged in reply.

* * *

"Hello, O'Donnels!" Shawn exclaimed when the door opened to reveal an older couple. "Can we come in and ask you some questions?"

"I'm sorry," Tim said. "Who are you?"

Isabel rolled her eyes and pushed Shawn to the side. "Hello, Tim. Excuse my cousin; he's an idiot."

"Isabel!" Maggie greeted with a smile. "How are you, my dear?"

Isabel smiled. "Fine, Miss Maggie. This is my cousin, Shawn, and his friend Gus. We're looking into Mom's disappearance. Can we talk to you?"

Both Tim and Maggie smiled, telling them that of course they could. As the three sat down in the sitting room, Maggie began to head towards the kitchen. "Can I get any of you something to drink?"

"Well," Shawn began.

"No, thank you, Miss Maggie. We're fine." Isabel glared at Shawn as Tim and Maggie took their seats.

"How exactly did Sara contact you?" Gus asked politely.

"She called," Tim said simply.

"Was there anything odd about the call?" Shawn asked interestedly.

"She sounded out of breath," Maggie said. "She seemed like she was forcing herself to be calm. It was like when she called from the hospital after you two were in the car accident."

Isabel nodded absentmindedly, rubbing her right thigh thoughtlessly. She could feel the outline of the scars under the fabric of her jeans. That night was not something that Isabel enjoyed remembering. Gus noticed that Shawn had become very quiet and was glancing at Isabel. He looked too and wondered why she looked so conflicted and sad. He couldn't remember Shawn ever saying anything about a car accident when they were younger. He could only remember that Shawn and Henry had gone to Salem for a week when they were both fifteen.

"Can we help you with anything else, Isabel?" Tim asked in a kind voice.

Isabel looked to Shawn. "Did you see anything strange that day?" Shawn asked. "Any unfamiliar people or cars?"

Maggie shook her head. "No, I didn't."

"There was a grey van on the street," Tim said. "It was down in the alley. That's all, though."

"Thank you," Shawn said as he nodded. After a few minutes, the three were climbing back into Isabel's car. She took a deep breath as she pulled her seatbelt over her shoulder. She took a moment to close her eyes and lean her head back against the headrest.

"You tired, Izzy? I can always drive," Shawn said, just a bit too gleefully for Isabel's liking.

"I'm fine, Shawn. No, you can't drive. I'm not sure if I trust you behind the wheel of a car."

* * *

It was late. Isabel was back in Santa Barbara and was currently inside her cousin's apartment. Shawn was at the Psych office with Gus trying to decipher what significance was in the number '713.' Isabel was curled up on the couch in a pair of loose sweatpants, a tank top, and a shirt she had snatched from Shawn's closet. All of her pyjamas were much too warm for Santa Barbara's climate.

The conversation with Tim and Maggie O'Donnel had brought up very unsavory memories. She had not thought of the car accident in a long time. She could still hear the squeal of rubber and the screech of metal on metal. She could still feel the icy air and the heat of her own blood. She could hear her mother's distressed shout and the confusion of the witnesses. Isabel closed her eyes and rubbed her temples, trying to force the memories away. She jerked in surprise when she heard the door open.

"Shawn?" she called. "That you?"

She didn't rise from the couch, feeling like she was in some sort of horror movie. She could almost hear the ominous music in the background. The only difference was that in a moment, it could shift from a horror to a comedy when Shawn appeared instead of some terrifying murderer.

"Shawn…?" Isabel questioned again, wondering vaguely if Shawn was trying to scare her. She did not finish her statement. When she saw who it was, her muscles tensed and her heart rate picked up, sending fire through her veins.

* * *

**_Again, reviews make me happy. The happier I am, the sooner I update. The sooner I update, the sooner I'm done rewriting. The sooner I'm done rewriting, the sooner you have a sequel. Then the process begins again. Please review! Same offer on the sequel title stands for reviewers._**


	5. The Case is Solved!

_**Vengeance Is Sweet… Unless You're On the Receiving End of It**_

_**(Vengeance is Sweet, but Pineapples are Sweeter)**_

_**Chapter Five: The Case is Solved! Wait – What Do You Mean it Isn't Closed Yet?**_

Shawn was throwing a tennis ball against the wall lazily. Gus was sitting at his desk and working on his laptop. Shawn had a look of intense concentration on his face. He had a sketch of the refrigerator magnets from his aunt's house taped on the wall. He was murmuring to himself as he looked at the sketch and threw the ball.

"Seven hundred thirteen. Seven, one, three. Seventy-one three." Shawn quirked his head to the side as he focused on a particular magnet. "Seven _dash _thirteen." His eyes widened and he jumped up from his chair. "Gus! It isn't seven thirteen or seven hundred thirteen! It's seven _dash _thirteen! This magnet – " he said, pointing to a rectangular magnet between the seven and the one. "It's a _dash!"_

"That makes it a date!" Gus exclaimed. "July thirteenth…" Shawn moved to stand behind Gus as he typed 'Spencer July 13' into an internet search engine. Neither was expecting the answer they received.

"Damn…" Gus said in disbelief, elongating the word.

The two looked at each other before making a mad dash for Gus's car. Shawn opened his cell phone and dialed Isabel's number. He swore when it went straight to voicemail. "She doesn't have her phone on," Shawn groaned."Can't you drive faster?"

"Shawn! If I drive any faster it will be twenty miles over the speed limit!" Gus shot back.

"Gus! What if he's already there?" Gus glanced over at Shawn with a look of horror and pressed the accelerator down further.

* * *

Shawn's apartment was in shambles. Isabel was nowhere to be seen and the living room was a disaster. Shawn cursed his heightened senses of observation. He could see the blood in the broken window where someone's head had been slammed into it. He could tell from the height of the crack in the window that it was where Isabel's head would have been if she had been standing. He could also see more blood on the floor and doubted that it was the attacker's blood.

"Damn it, Izzy!" he growled. "You just _had_ to get kidnapped _before _we figured out everything!"

"Shawn," Gus said, looking around the apartment in disbelief. "We have to call the police."

Shawn sighed. "Yeah, I know." He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and dialed Juliet's number.

"Shawn," Juliet greeted. "What can I do for you?"

"Jules," Shawn said seriously. "I know who kidnapped my aunt. He's kidnapped Izzy, too."

"Where are you?" Juliet asked urgently.

"My apartment. She was staying with me. Gus and I were at the office. We only just got here."

"We'll be right there, Shawn," Juliet said. "We'll find her."

Shawn closed his phone and put it back in his pocket. He looked around the trashed room, trying to find anything that would hint as to where his cousin was. "He didn't break the door in," Shawn murmured, looking at the door. "It's like Sara's house. He must have picked the lock."

"What about your spare key?" Gus asked. "Could he have found it?"

"Don't be ridiculous, Gus. I don't _have_ a spare key," Shawn told him as he investigated the door. "It doesn't look like he picked the lock, though. Did Izzy leave the door unlocked?" He looked down and picked up a familiar plastic cap. "So he got Izzy the same way he got Sara. Damn it!"

* * *

Isabel struggled to pull herself to consciousness. Her muscles felt like jelly and her wrists were aching. It felt like they were bound. She tried to move and hissed at the pain that exploded in her side.

"Bel? Is that you?"

Isabel opened her eyes and was met with naught but darkness. "Mom?"

"Bel, are you all right?" Sara's voice was urgent and worried. Isabel was thrilled that she was with her mother. It didn't sound like she was injured.

"I'm fine, Mom," Isabel lied, holding her bloody side. "Are you okay? Did he hurt you? Where are we?" Isabel was confused. It felt like they were in a vehicle, but it was pitch-black.

"I'm okay, I'm not hurt. We're in his van."

Isabel tried to fight the desire to close her eyes. She knew that she was losing a lot of blood. She knew enough about wounds to know that if the bleeding wasn't stopped, she would die. She couldn't think straight and she felt light-headed. She was sure that if she could see anything at all, she would have been very dizzy. She wondered vaguely, as she fell into the darkness of sleep, if she would ever wake up again.

* * *

Shawn was searching for other clues to Isabel's kidnapping when the police arrived.

"Shawn," Juliet said as she entered the apartment. "What happened?"

"Izzy was kidnapped like Sara was," he explained. "She's a reporter in Seattle and she wrote an article last year about some missing persons. She did some digging and discovered that one Kevin Thompson had connections to all three of the missing people and hadn't been seen for a few days. They found all three dead and he was arrested and put on death row. While being transported last week, he escaped. He took Sara and now he's taken Izzy. He wants revenge."

Juliet was shocked. For one, Shawn was more serious than she had ever seen him before. Second, he had just given her all the information. No visions, no feelings, nothing; just facts. Juliet didn't think that had ever happened before.

"Do you know where he is?" she asked as Lassiter and the Chief entered.

"No," Shawn said. "I don't."

The Chief looked around the apartment. "O'Hara said that you know who the kidnapper is, Mr. Spencer."

Shawn nodded. "Kevin Thompson. He's out for revenge." Shawn remembered what Tim O'Donnel had said about the dark blue van. He put a hand to his head. "I'm feeling a van, though. A dark blue van."

"Lassiter," the Chief said. "I want information on this Thompson and an APB for a dark blue van."

Lassiter nodded and left the apartment. The Chief turned to speak to Shawn, but he interrupted. "No, Chief, I don't know where he is."

"Very well, Mr. Spencer." She turned to Juliet. "O'Hara, speak to the witnesses. Take Mr. Spencer and Mr. Guster with you."

Juliet nodded and led Shawn and Gus from the apartment to speak to the witnesses. No one seemed to be able to tell them about the abduction. They could say that they heard crashes and other such things, but thought nothing of them. Only a young couple that lived the floor below Shawn's could tell them anything substantial. They said that they saw a man carrying a young woman down the stairs when they had gone out to see what was going on. They saw the man get into a dark blue van. They were about to call the police when the police arrived.

* * *

Gus was worried about his best friend. Shawn and Gus were making their way back to Gus's car after being assured by Juliet that she would call if they found anything. He had rarely seen Shawn so serious. Gus could count the number of times he had seen him this way on one hand. When they got into Gus's car, Shawn started fidgeting uncontrollably. His leg was bouncing up and down as if Shawn had no control over it.

"If I were a crazed murderer out for revenge and out of town, where would I take two hostages?" Shawn mumbled to himself. "Not a motel; that could be traced and there are too many witnesses. Where would you go that is completely abandoned?"

"He could just be living out of his van," Gus said, trying to remain calm. He didn't want to think about the repercussions of what would happen if Isabel and Sara were not found safe.

"And if he's living out of his van, then he can just take them to some abandoned field!" Shawn exclaimed. "Gus, we have to go check out the fields on the edge of town!"

"Shawn, they could be _anywhere._ Do you realise the chances of us finding this guy before the police?" Gus tried to reason with Shawn, knowing that it was a futile effort. Reasoning with Shawn usually turned out as a lost cause.

"We find guys before the police all the time," Shawn retorted.

Gus sighed and changed direction. "You should call your dad, Shawn. He'd want to know about Isabel."

Shawn groaned. "Great… Now he's going to tell me it's my fault that Izzy was taken too." He complained, but he took out his phone nonetheless. He dialed his dad's number and listened to it ring.

"Yeah?" Henry questioned upon answering the phone.

"Dad," Shawn said. "Izzy's been taken. The guy that took Sara was out for revenge. Izzy got him put in jail. He escaped and kidnapped Sara, then Izzy. We know what he's driving and Gus and I are looking for them. We think he'll take them to one of the fields to finish the job." Shawn tried not to think about how Isabel and Sara could very easily die or already be hurt."

"Where the hell were you when this happened, kid?" Henry questioned. Shawn was surprised. Henry didn't sound as furious as he usually did. He just sounded tired.

"Gus and I were at the office. We were trying to figure out a clue Sara left. By the time we figured out what it was, Izzy was gone. We missed them by minutes."

There was a long silence before Henry spoke again. "Be careful, kid," he said gruffly. "Make sure to fry the bastard that took 'em."

Shawn gave a strained left and hung up the phone, returning it to his pocket. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, his leg still bouncing up and down. Gus looked over at him.

"We'll find her," Gus assured his best friend. "Even if we don't, the police will."

Shawn nodded absentmindedly and stared out the window. Gus looked over again and knew that leaving Shawn to his thoughts was not a good idea at the moment. He decided to try and distract him from his thoughts.

"You never told me about Izzy being in a car accident," Gus said, using Shawn's nickname for her by accident. "Why didn't you say why you and your dad had gone to Salem that week?"

Shawn sighed. "Sara and Izzy were hit by a drunk driver," he evaded. "It was snowing and the guy didn't even have his license – it had been revoked. Sara was pretty much okay. Her hands were burned from the airbag and she was cut up and bruised, but it wasn't anything a visit to the emergency room wouldn't fix."

Gus waited for Shawn to speak again, but had to prompt him. "And Isabel?"

"She nearly lost her leg," Shawn said. "The guy drove them off the road. The passenger side was nearly destroyed when it hit a tree. Izzy was lucky; the damage wasn't too bad except for her leg. Part of the door nearly severed it and glass from the windshield and window imbedded itself into her leg. It missed any arteries and the doctors were able to fix her up. They said that it was a pretty clean cut and she was very lucky. She walked a year and a half later. She was so _little, _Gus. She was only twelve and nearly died because some guy couldn't stay away from the bottle. He didn't even stay to see if they were all right! He's _still _missing!"

Gus was about to say something in response when he saw headlights ahead. He was surprised to see that they had made it to the fields already. "Dude!" Shawn exclaimed, sitting up in his seat when he saw the headlights. They belonged to a dark blue van.

* * *

**_Review, review, review! _**


	6. Spanish Soap Operas With Knives

_**Vengeance Is Sweet… Unless You're On the Receiving End of It**_

_**(Vengeance is Sweet, but Pineapples are Sweeter)**_

_**Chapter Six: Spanish Soap Operas with Knives and Fallout Shelters**_

Shawn and Gus looked in shock as they drove closer to the dark blue van. The headlights were still on, but it didn't appear as if the van was running. Gus parked the car about thirty feet away and both men jumped when they heard sirens and saw flashing lights. They jumped out of the car as the police pulled up along with Lassiter's red car and Juliet's green Bug. As the officers and detectives got out of their cars, they pulled their weapons.

"Shawn!" Juliet hissed. "You shouldn't be here!"

"Why not?" Shawn asked. "Izzy's my cousin. I'm not just going to sit back and wait for her to be found, Jules!"

Juliet was about to respond when the door to the van slid open. Thompson staggered out of the vehicle. Illuminated by the headlights of the police vehicles, it could be seen that he was holding up Isabel, holding a knife to her throat. Shawn could plainly see that Isabel was unconscious. He had to swallow a lump in his throat when he saw her. She was covered in blood. She was wearing one of his shirts and the entire right side had changed from white to bright, florescent red.

"Stay back or I'll slit her throat!" Thompson shouted.

"Dude! Does it look like we're going anywhere? No one's coming any closer," Shawn shouted over. Juliet glared at him and started hissing at him to shut up. Gus did the same but he ignored both of them. "I'd give up if I were you. You're out of options, Kevin! We know who you are and even if you kill her it isn't going to help anything. Then you'll e going to jail for triple homicide and kidnapping and all kinds of other little things I'm sure you're guilty of! If you turn yourself over now, then you won't have Izzy's death over your head and we can get her some medical attention."

Kevin Thompson stared at Shawn and Shawn met his gaze. "You know her," Thompson said softly. "You don't care about me! You only care about her safety! You only said all of that because it will get her saved! No!" Thompson continued to yell, but Shawn tuned him out. He was focused on Isabel. He noticed vaguely that her eyelids were fluttering. She was awake!

Shawn leaned toward Juliet infinitesimally. "Jules," he whispered out of the corner of his mouth. "You're going to have to take him out, aren't you?"

Juliet turned to look at Shawn. "Yeah, Shawn. He's definitely not going quietly," she answered in the same manner.

Shawn nodded. "When you get a shot, take it."

"What are you planning? Shawn, what are you going to do?" She was frantic. She did not like the look that he had in his eye.

Shawn didn't answer, focusing instead on his cousin. Her eyes were open now, but no one else seemed to notice. They were all too intent on Thompson. She met his gaze and Shawn could see that she felt weak, but wasn't about to go down without a fight. He knew she was going to fight back and was very glad that he wasn't Kevin Thompson at the moment. He nodded to show her that she should do whatever she had in mind.

Several things happened in a matter of seconds. Isabel grabbed Thompson's wrist with one hand and elbowed him in the ribs sharply. Thompson buckled and his grip loosened. Isabel pulled away, immediately falling to the ground. Thompson moved to go after Isabel again, but several guns went off at once. Juliet, Lassiter, and the Chief had all taken the shot, along with a few officers like McNab. For several moments after Thompson fell, all was silent. Shawn was the first to move. He rushed over to where Isabel was laying, holding her side.

"Izzy? Are you okay?" he asked urgently.

"Hey, Shawn," Isabel said weakly, struggling to keep her eyes open. "I don't know… I think I've had worse injuries."

Shawn couldn't help the chuckle that escaped him. His smile soon faded when Isabel's eyes fluttered shut. "Izzy! Wake up! Come on, Izzy!" Shawn tried to awaken her to no avail. "We need an ambulance!" Shawn shouted to the line of police officers. Shawn's shout seemed to snap them into action. The Chief went to one of the cars to call for an ambulance as Juliet and Lassiter went towards the van. Juliet came to kneel with Shawn by Isabel as Lassiter crawled into the dark van, flashlight in hand.

Juliet pulled away the bloodied side of the shirt to inspect Isabel's wound. "Wow," she said, shocked by the severity of the wound. Shawn swore as Juliet inspected his cousin's wound more closely. Isabel's skin had been sliced apart by a knife. The gash began from the middle of her ribcage and twisted around the curve of her waist to end at the bottom of her ribcage on her back. Shawn once again cursed his keen sense of observation. He knew that that kind of wound was probably made by Thompson pressing the knife into Isabel's skin and Isabel twisting away from him. The Chief came to join Shawn and Juliet as the Junior Detective turned Isabel on her side and began to press down onto the wound to stop the flow of blood.

"The ambulance is on its way," she said.

"Where's Isabel? Where's my daughter?" The woman's voice was frantic and Shawn turned to where Lassiter was leading Sara Spencer from the van. "Shawn," she said in surprise. "Is Bel okay?"

"An ambulance is on the way, Aunt Sara," Shawn explained. "She'll be okay."

Sara kneeled down, rubbing her chafed wrists. Lassiter had released her from the bonds that Thompson had bound her in. She brushed a hand over her daughter's forehead.

"Are you hurt, Aunt Sara?" Shawn asked, glancing at Juliet, who was still trying to stop Isabel's bleeding.

Sara shook her head. "I'm fine, Shawn. Are you sure she'll be okay?"

Before Shawn could answer, they heard the wail of an ambulance. The paramedics hurried over to Isabel and loaded her into the ambulance. Sara was forced into treatment also because they suspected that she had a concussion. Shawn and Gus piled into Gus's car and began to follow the ambulance. As Gus was driving, he noticed that Shawn's leg was bouncing up and down once more.

"You okay?" he asked quietly.

Shawn scoffed. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just hoping my cousin won't bleed to death before getting to the hospital." Gus shook his head, knowing Shawn wouldn't listen to anything he had to say.

Shawn and Gus were sitting in the waiting room (doing what?), waiting for Isabel to get out of surgery. Sara was in the Emergency Room getting her head checked out. Shawn couldn't seem to sit still. He kept standing and pacing then sitting again and picking up a magazine before throwing it down and repeating the process.

"Shawn, calm down," Gus said, knowing it was futile. When Shawn got nervous, he was unable to stop moving. It was the ADHD part of him. Shawn pulled out his cell phone and dialled a number. "Who are you calling?"

"My dad," Shawn replied heavily.

"Shawn!" Henry exclaimed before the first ring had even finished. "What happened? Did you find them?"

"Yeah," he replied. "Sara's getting her head checked and Izzy's in surgery. She has a pretty bad knife wound. We're just waiting now."

"Did you get him?"

"Yeah," Shawn sighed. "They took him down. He was holding Izzy at knife point."

After a moment, Henry spoke again. "I'll be there in ten minutes."

"Dad, you don't – " Shawn began.

"Ten minutes, Shawn," he repeated.

Shawn sighed and hung up the phone. "My dad's coming," he said. "Should we warn the doctors? Maybe they want to hide in the fallout shelter."

Gus rolled his eyes. "What makes you think the hospital even _has _a fallout shelter?"

Shawn opened his mouth to respond, but was interrupted by the call of his own name. "Shawn!" Shawn spun around to see Sara coming from the direction of the ER.

"Aunt Sara! How's the head?" Gus was surprised to hear that Shawn was speaking very nonchalantly.

"It's fine. Where's Bel?"

"Still in surgery," Gus answered, rising from his chair. "I'm Gus, Shawn's friend." He looked behind Sara and Shawn, seeing Isabel's doctor. "That's Isabel's doctor."

They turned as the doctor approached. "Is Isabel all right?" Sara asked immediately.

"I assume you're Ms. Spencer's mother, then. Good to see you are all right. Your daughter's surgery went well. The wound was fairly clean and missed her vital organs." The surgeon paused for a moment before continuing. "She did lose a lot of blood and we were worried that it would cause brain damage. We took the best course of action to prevent this from happening: we induced her into a coma to allow her brain to recuperate."

All three were silent for many moments. "A _coma?" _Shawn asked incredulously. "You're joking, right? Where _are _we? A Spanish soap opera?"

"I'm afraid that I'm quite serious, Mr. Spencer. Her room is right down the hall – third on the left. If you need me, you can page one of the nurses.

The surgeon paused for a moment before returning to his job. Shawn, Gus, and Sara stood for a few moments, too shocked to process much. After a moment, Shawn began to make his way down the hallway. He needed to see Isabel for himself before he could believe the outrageous, melodramatic idea of his cousin being in a coma. He opened the door to her room and froze. Isabel was lying on the bed looking very pale and quite unconscious.

Shawn sighed and got out of the doorway, Gus and Sara entering behind him. Gus came in and stood beside Shawn and Sara made her way to Isabel's bedside. She sighed and sank into one of the chairs by the bed.

"What's going on?"

Shawn and Gus turned to see Henry in the doorway. "Dad," Shawn said in surprise. "When you said ten minutes, you weren't joking."

"What's going on, Shawn?" Henry demanded.

"Izzy's in a coma," Shawn said, turning away from his dad to look at Isabel and Sara.

"Damn," Henry swore. "Tell me you got the guy."

Gus nodded. "The police had to take him down. He was holding Isabel at knife point."

Shawn sighed. He could tell that his aunt was blaming herself. The way she was holding her body gave her thoughts away. She had her head lowered – she wasn't even looking at Isabel. She was wringing her hands and shifting in her seat. He watched as Sara rested her elbow on the arm of the chair and leaned her head against her hand.

"Aunt Sara," Shawn said, standing across from his aunt.

Sara jumped at his voice. She seemed to have forgotten that there were others in the room. "Yes, Shawn?" she asked softly.

"It's not your fault, Aunt Sara," Shawn said. "Thompson was out for revenge. There wasn't anything you could have done to stop him from hurting Izzy."

Sara sighed, running a hand through her hair. "I know. It doesn't mean I have to be happy about my daughter being in a coma."

Shawn nodded, knowing there was nothing more he could say. His aunt was pretty much inconsolable at the moment.

* * *

**_One chapter left. Please review._**


	7. The End of the Beginning

**_Well, here it is! The final (rewritten) chapter of _Vengeance is Sweet!_ I must say that I'm very proud of myself. I do apologise for how long it has taken to get this out - I've been very busy and been inspired in another story (_Arabella Rae and the Story Never Written; Harry Potter fanfic. Please read it too :3). _Anyway, here it is!

* * *

_**

_Vengeance Is Sweet… Unless You're On the Receiving End of It_

_**Chapter Seven: The End of the Beginning to a Long and Almost Tedious Adventure**_

Isabel could hear a horrible beeping that was beginning to annoy her. Her side was throbbing and her head felt like it was stuffed with cotton. She felt drowsy and knew that she was in a hospital. They must be giving her drugs; it would explain why she felt so drowsy even though she had obviously been asleep for a while.

"Hey, Izzy," she heard Shawn say. "Way to join the land of the living."

Isabel groaned. "Shut up, Shawn. I'm still sleeping."

Shawn gave a strained laugh. "I think you've slept long enough, Iz."

Isabel opened her eyes to see Shawn lounging in a chair by her hospital ed. She was surprised when she saw that Shawn did not look anything like his usual, light-hearted, carefree self. There were dark circles under his eyes and he was tense despite the fact that he was sitting in a lounging position, his feet propped up on her bed. His hair was even more tousled than usual and he was wearing a very crumpled looking shirt.

"Shawn? You okay?"

He laughed the same strained laugh. "I'm fine. I'm not the one was kidnapped and sliced into Swiss cheese."

"Well, right now you're looking worse off than I am," Isabel retorted. "Why do you look like you haven't slept in a week?"

Shawn shrugged. "Probably because I haven't. Not well, anyway."

"Shawn, how long have I been out?" she asked in confusion.

"Eight days," Shawn said. Isabel thought he was, perhaps for the first time, quiet and reserved. In short, he was not acting like the Shawn she knew. "They induced a coma. You lost a lot of blood. They were afraid it would give you brain damage."

Isabel nodded before firing questions at Shawn. "Is Mom okay? Did you get Thompson?" It seemed as if the full gravity of the situation had finally hit her.

"Yes and yes," Shawn answered. "You picked one hell of a guy to rat out, Izzy."

"Well, how was I supposed to know he would escape and try to kill me and my mother?" Isabel retorted.

Shawn grinned and Isabel was pleased to see that he looked like himself again. "Any other crazed, irate, vengeful murderers you exposed we should know about? Just so we know where to go the next time you vanish."

Isabel smiled and rolled her eyes. "None come to mind. I'll let you know if I think of any, though."

The two looked to the doorway as the door opened, surprised to see Isabel's doctor come in. Isabel wondered why he was here. She could tell that it was late and couldn't understand why he was there at three in the morning.

"Miss Spencer! Lovely to see you awake. I'm Dr. Reed; I was your surgeon. How are you feeling?"

"Drowsy," she said. "My side's throbbing. I feel okay, though."

"Did Shawn tell you – "

"That I've been unconscious for a week? Yeah, he did. Can you just tell me when I can get out of here?"

Dr. Reed chuckled. "Not a fan of hospitals, then? Depending on how the treatment goes, you could be home by the end of the week. That is, if we can be sure you'll take it easy. You have a pretty bad wound there, Miss Spencer," he said, trying to comfort her with a smile. "Do you want me to up your dosage to get rid of that throbbing?"

"No," Isabel said quickly. "Thank you, but I think I'm drugged up enough."

Reed smiled. "Very well, Miss Spencer. I'll check up on you later myself or have a nurse pop in."

Isabel nodded and turned back to Shawn after Dr. Reed left. "What time is it?"

Shawn rolled his eyes and lifted his watch-less wrist. "Well, it seems to be a quarter past this freckle. Or maybe it's half past that scar…"

Isabel rolled her eyes. "Come on, Shawn. Why was a doctor here so late?"

Shawn shrugged again. "He works the night shift. That's why he was your surgeon when they brought you in."

Isabel nodded absentmindedly. "And why are _you _here so late?"

"Couldn't sleep," Shawn said nonchalantly. "I've been here a lot in the past week."

"Where's Mom?"

"Staying at my dad's. She's fine; just worried about you," Shawn assured her. "Although, if I were her, I wouldn't want to stay at my dad's. The smell of fish alone would be unbearable."

Isabel laughed then grimaced, gingerly holding her side. _Note to self,_ she thought. _Don't laugh too hard._

"Izzy? You okay?" Isabel nodded but she could tell Shawn wasn't buying it. "Maybe they should up your dosage, Iz."

Isabel shook her head. "No," she said firmly. "I don't want any more drugs."

Shawn folded his arms and looked at her. "For the love of pineapple, why are you being so stubborn? Just take some drugs, fall asleep, and wake up pain-free. What's wrong with that?"

"I don't _want _any more drugs, Shawn!" she exclaimed.

Shawn paused before responding. He leaned forward in his chair to rest his elbows on his knees. "What's the problem, Izzy? Why won't you take any drugs?"

Isabel looked away, not wanting to see her cousin's face. She wasn't used to him being serious. "There's nothing else going on, Shawn. I just don't want anymore drugs."

Shawn raised an eyebrow and stared at her and Isabel was forced to look at him, finding nothing interesting in the wall or medical carts. "Come on, Izzy, you think I'm that gullible? I know that something is eating away at you from the inside. Something horrible and most likely monstrous."

Isabel rolled her eyes. "They made me take too many drugs when I was in the hospital before. Mom and I were both pretty screwed up when we finally got out of there. I really don't want that to happen again."

Shawn raised his eyebrow to heights Isabel did not believe possible. "You're going to make sure you don't get addicted to drugs by making sure you don't take any and are in pain all the time? Wow, _that_ makes sense."

Isabel rolled her eyes. "I'm going to sleep now. Enjoy talking to yourself."

Shawn laughed and Isabel knew that he thought she was joking. Unfortunately, she wasn't. She really was going to go back to sleep. _Stupid drugs… How can I be so tired when I've done nothing but slept for a week?_

* * *

When Isabel woke again, she knew that it was morning. Bright sunlight was streaming through the window – and shining _directly _into her face. She could hear Shawn and Gus talking nearby. She tried to move her head out of the sunlight but couldn't, groaning in frustration. She opened her eyes to see Shawn and Gus looking at her.

"Izzy! You're awake! Again! Ready to take more drugs?" Shawn asked. Isabel noticed that his hair was in the normal dishevelled mess instead of being how it was last night. She was glad to see that he was wearing clean (and non-crumpled) clothes.

"Shut up, Shawn," Isabel groaned. She tried once more to shift out of the sunlight, failing. "Could you close the blind? I'd rather _not _go blind from staring directly at the sun."

Shawn went to the window, closing the blind. "You know, Izzy, you shouldn't look directly at the sun. I've heard it's bad for you."

Isabel sighed in relief when the blind blocked out the sun. "It's not my fault that the sun decided to shine directly into my face."

Gus pushed Shawn aside lightly. Shawn, being Shawn, yelped and overreacted. "How do you feel, Isabel?" Gus asked in concern.

"I'm fine," she answered. "My side's a little sore, but other than that I'm fine."

"Are you sure? They're giving you some pretty heavy pain killers – "

"It's only a flesh wound, Gus. I'm fine, really," Isabel interrupted.

Shawn popped up on the other side of Gus. "Really, Izzy? A _Monty Python_ reference?"

"Yes, Shawn," Isabel retorted. "A_ Monty Python _reference. Be careful – I might bite off your kneecaps." Shawn scoffed but Gus was grinning. "Did you call Mom?" Isabel asked Shawn.

Shawn nodded. "I did; she and Dad are on the way."

Isabel nodded. "Okay, well, I'm going to need your guys' help," she said seriously.

Shawn and Gus looked at each other in confusion. "With what exactly?" Gus asked warily, knowing that when Spencers ask for help, it usually wasn't a good thing.

Isabel laughed at their reactions. "It isn't anything _bad._ It's not like I need your help to kill someone. I just want to find an apartment."

"You want to find an _apartment?"_ Shawn asked incredulously. "Aren't you going back to Seattle?"

She shrugged. "I'm sure I'll have to eventually to get my stuff."

Gus looked at Isabel in confusion. "What about your job?"

"I'm quitting," Isabel replied nonchalantly.

_"Why?"_ they asked in unison.

Isabel raised her eyebrow in a very Shawn-like gesture. "Weren't you paying attention? My job nearly got my mother and I killed. I've been in a _coma _for a week. Not exactly what I was looking for in a career. Besides, it's not as if I have any great attachment to journalistic writing. The only reason I did it was because I'm good at it. I'm sure I could find much better and more enjoyable things to do with my life that won't put people in the mood for revenge."

Shawn shrugged, grinning. "You could always work at Psych with Gus and me."

Isabel rolled her eyes. "Didn't you hear what I said? I wanted to do something that _wouldn't_ put my life in jeopardy on a daily basis. I don't think working for the police falls into that category."

"Aw, come on, Izzy! We've never been shot! In fact, the only time either of us ever got injured was when someone decided to drive me off the road! I wasn't even hurt that badly! I didn't even need crutches. If I had been in a car, I would have been fine! Sure, we've been shot _at,_ but we've never actually gotten short! You said you wanted to do something enjoyable – what could be more fun that solving crimes for the police? You're a good detective, Izzy! _That's _why you were good at reporting! This is like being a reporter without having to broadcast that you were the one that put the guy in jail! Come on, Izzy, it'll be fu-un!" he said, elongating the last word so that it had two syllables.

Isabel rolled her eyes. "How often are you in mortal danger?" she asked Gus.

Gus shrugged. "Not as often as it would seem. I'd guess… thirty-five, maybe forty percent of the time. Mostly, criminals just threaten to make our lives a living hell. Even if they do try to carry that out, the police are always with us."

Isabel nodded, contemplating. Finally, she shrugged. "I'll think about it."

"Really? I didn't actually expect that to work," Shawn said, laughing.

"Maybe you're more persuasive than you thought," Isabel mocked. "The only reason that I would work with you at Psych is if I actually _wanted _to work with you. I'm not sure that I'm willing to put myself through being with you nearly every day of the week."

Gus laughed. "You should beware, Isabel. If you move here, he's going to rope you into cases even if you're out of town. He came to a retreat that I had one weekend and called my boss to say that my grandmother broke a hip, repeatedly, and I had to leave."

Isabel laughed, knowing that Gus was telling the truth. What she didn't say was that she actually _would _enjoy working with Shawn and Gus. She got along with them well and shared the same sense of humour. She was interested to see hat life would be like in Santa Barbara. She was almost certain that it would be more interesting than life in Seattle or Salem had been. That is, if she could survive the ungodly heat.

_the end_

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****__Well, there it is! The end. For now. I'll try to get the newest story up as soon as possible. I'm pretty sure that it's going to be called_ Konnichiwa! Or Should I Say Sayonara?_ So you an make of that what you will. Please review! The more reviews I receive, the happier I will be, so the more I'll write, so the sooner I'll get the newest story out! In other words, reviews=new story faster._


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